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Kratos (Soulcalibur)
"I am the god of WAR!" : — Kratos Kratos (クレイトス Kureitosu) is the protagonist of the God of War''franchise. He is the son of Zeus and Callisto. Kratos was a Spartan general and servant of Ares (just as Astaroth was in the Soul series), and Kratos later rebelled against his master and destroyed him using Pandora's Box. Upon killing Ares, he became the new God of War. What lies in his soul is '''Vengeance'. Appearance Kratos appears as a man of impressive muscular stature with a large red tattoo on the left side of his body, golden-amber eyes and a black goatee. His ghost white texture is the result of an oracle embedding the ashes of his wife and child into his skin, both of whom he had killed himself. His attire consists of red fingerless gloves and toeless boots, both which are gold-plated and wears a tattered red cloth with yellow markings. His alternate outfit is the armor he wore at the beginning of God of War II during his tenure as the new titular being after having killed Ares prior. Story In a dreary underground library, a man sought to discover forbidden texts which would grant him power. This man was a survivor of Fygul Cestemus, a religious cult which had been recently pushed to the edge of total destruction by the golem known as Astaroth. Rather than uniting, survivors had turned against each other, each seeking to gain higher authority over the remnants of the cult. This man desired the power to take revenge on the rebelling giant and then rebuild the organization under his own authority, his status of power being above all others. He finally came across an ancient text, which held information to perform a ritual which was said to summon an ancient god known as Kratos. According to legends, in the battle for Greece, Kratos had taken over Ares' position of 'god of War'. Using a shard of Soul Edge, the man succeeded in performing the ceremony and opened a dimensional portal. Kratos appeared and with his Blades of Chaos, rewarded this man who summoned him with death. From the environment and tools the man had been using, Kratos realized he is no longer in his era. The fragment of Soul Edge, stepped in the madness of the now deceased man, whispered to Kratos. "To grant your wish, offer many souls to me. With your power it will be easy..." Kratos easily overcomes the shard's attempt to enslave him and views visions of Soul Edge and the spirit sword Soul Calibur. Kratos realizes the power created by the conflict of these two swords will be able to send him back to his own time. Leaving the library, he viewed what appeared to be shooting stars heading towards the west. Realizing they are Soul Edge shards, he decides to follow them... For reasons unknown, Kratos' original profile was never officially translated into English. Instead his profile on the official English website of Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny states: Kratos, the protagonist of the wildly popular God of War series, is on a quest for revenge. Ordered to assassinate Ares, Kratos only agrees to do so in order to free himself from the nightmares of his past deeds. The Greek anti-god Kratos combines his animalistic and brutal fighting style with his distinctive weapons, the "Blades of Chaos"(a pair of swords attached to Kratos' arms with the fiery chains of Hades) for a fluid combat style that is a challenger's worst nightmare. Once attached the chains remain that way, chained and seared to the flesh, a part of the bearer's body and a permanent reminder of Kratos' pledge, in return is ultimate power. Kratos is the true definition of an anti-hero, often making immoral decisions to further his goal (sacrificing unprotected humans for example). Once a captain in the Spartan army, Kratos was only interested in stealing his opponents power for his own gain, his tactics were brutal but effective. Kratos' desire for conquest knew no bounds. One day, the barbarians to the east outnumbered Kratos' men, the Spartans faced a massacre, but Kratos suddenly shouted "Ares, destroy my enemies and my life is your's!" Later as a servant of the god of War Ares, Kratos is eventually tricked by his master into killing his own family in a temple of Athena. An oracle then placed a curse so all would know him for the beast he had become: his skin pale white with the ashes of his dead wife and child, "The Ghost of Sparta" had been born. Hell bent on revenge, Kratos had pledged himself as a champion to the gods of Olympus and was sent to rescue Athens from the mighty Persian Empire, after which Helios, the Greek god of the Sun, was torn from the sky and so Morpheus, the god of dreams, awakened to a world where he and only he wielded power. The power of Morpheus even affected Kratos as he heard a haunting melody, but when he heard it, he recognized it as the song of his daughter: Calliope. When Kratos arrived at a temple in the city of Marathon, he was standing on the Sun Chariot of Helios, the very chariot that the Fire Steeds pulled across the sky every day. Kratos later learned that the Titan Atlas was freed from the pits of Tartarus and took Helios from the sky. As he freed the other steeds with the help of Eos, goddess of dawn and sister to Helios, the beasts crossed over into the Underworld. The first challenge in Hades Kratos had to face was Charon the ferryman and later it was the one behind the whole plot: Persephone, wife of Hades and goddess of death. Persephone claimed that the gods betrayed her and wanted everyone else to share the pain she felt, but she was killed at the hands of Kratos. As for her minion, the mighty Atlas was left enchained atop the pillar that Persephone wanted destroyed. Atlas was to remain there cursed to forever hold the world on his shoulders. The fate of Atlas was sealed and the goddess Persephone was no more. As the Sun Chariot rose higher into the sky and the brilliance of Helios shone on mankind, Morpheus retreated to the shadows. However the dire toll of his battles had caught up with him as Kratos fell from the Chariot to the bluffs overlooking the Aegean Sea. Later, Kratos was sent by Athena to rescue Athens once again, but this time from the minions of his former master. Upon learning an Olympian's weakness, Kratos went after Pandora's Box, which was found across the Desert of Lost Souls inside Pandora's Temple, located on the back of his grandfather: Cronus the Titan. Surprisingly, Kratos was the first mortal to reach Pandora's Box, he then eventually returned to Athens using it's power to kill Ares and became the next god of War. However, when Kratos opened the Box he released the evils of the Titanomachy to the gods, infecting them, changing them. Consumed by the evil, Fear, Zeus tried to dethrone Kratos, but even the King of Olympus cannot defeat this powerful fighter. Kratos even tried to kill Zeus, but Athena sacrificed herself to save him, she then told Kratos that just as Zeus dethroned his father Cronus, Kratos is destined to do the same. Agreeing to serve the gods in order to receive forgiveness, Kratos shows disregard for their plight, only following their orders for his own personal benefit. The Gauntlet Kratos has a small role in chapter 27 of The Gauntlet. Cassandra, Hilde and Dampierre continue their search for the ingredients that Hilde's father needs to recover, there next one they must find is "Sand from another world", but they are clueless of how to find another world. So Dampierre thinks of someone that can help them, it turns out it's Zasalamel. after the three defeat him, they dragged Zasalamel into 'another world' along with them, as they encounter Kratos. The player has to defend himself/herself against Kratos' attacks such as a Guard Impact, and attack him when he is open for attacking. While that is going on, Dampierre managed to sneak some of the Sand from another world into his shirt sleeve and requests them all to retreat. Just before they get to Ivy, Cassandra breaks the fourth wall complaining about Kratos being a Special Guest. Weapons * God of War * Olympian * Spartan General * Mortal * Titan * Ultimate * Spartan * Ghost of Sparta Quotes * "I will make you suffer!" * "You would defy the God of War?" * "Go now, and I will let you live." * "None will stand in my way." * "You can do nothing to stop me." * "You are no challenge for a God." * "Olympus! Tremble before me!" * "Your fate has been sealed." * "Zeus! You will be next!" * "Spartans do not know the meaning of surrender." * "Behold the power of the Gods!" * "I am the God of War!" * "Drown in the depths of Hades!" * "Cretin!" * "Hades... awaits your soul!" * "For Sparta!" * "The wrath of... Olympus!" * "Now you... suffer!" * "I bring your death." * "I will destroy you!" * "Enough!" * "Worthless!" * "You cannot win!" * "Be gone." * "Now die!" * "This ends now!" * "Is that your best?" * "Fear me!" * "Out of my way!" * "You're mine!" * "Meet your doom!" * "Your end begins!" * "To your knees!" * "None shall defy me!" Stage Challenge of the Gods The Pandora's Temple built only to appease the gods, here stands the testament to all the warriors of Greece who fight to the death for an audience with the gods. Critical Finish Rage of the Gods: Using the Blade of Olympus, he slashes his opponent thrice, jumps on the opponent and stabs them with the sword, pulls the blade out again and fatally strikes the opponent. Fighting Style Kratos fights with a very barbaric fighting style similar to how he fights in the God of War series. His movelist is made up of short range attacks as well as long range attacks. The Plume of Prometheus is an excellent combo from short to mid range while the Tartarus Rage combo can easily ground enemies. Some of Kratos' short ranged attacks including the Spartan Jab can catch enemies off-guard due to the fact that Kratos is a slow fighter. He has many attacks that go into his Spartan Ascent, especially the Olympic Ascension which can help Kratos in mid-air combos. Kratos has a variety of Guard Breaking attacks that can allow him to quickly damage opponents. Unlike most guest characters who are considered either top or bottom tier, Kratos is regarded to be a mid-tier character, his exceptional range (rivaled only by Zasalamel and Kilik) more than makes up for his slow attack speed. His fighting style would then be the basis for Aeon's (Lizardman) double-axe fighting style in Soulcalibur V. Trivia * Kratos' role in the Soul series seems to be debated among fans. However, he is obviously non-canon, like the other guest characters. * Kratos's backstory and persona is somewhat similar to Siegfried: both of them accidentally killed their families, in the case of Kratos, he killed his wife Lysandra and daughter Calliope, while Siegfried killed his father Frederick, both of them seek atonement for their past sins. Strangely enough, both also have a scar over their right eye. * During Soulcalibur Broken Destiny's opening, Kratos is pit against Sophitia due to their Greek backgrounds and opposing viewpoints, with Sophitia serving the gods and Kratos (formerly servant) against them. * Kratos' profile for Broken Destiny is also similar to Keres' backstory. Both were summoned by a Fygul Cestemus member seeking revenge, and both killed the ones who summoned them. * His Critical Finish is the mini-game in his battle with Ares in God of War. * When he does his Critical Finish, he says afterwards "Behold the power of the gods!" However, if it is done on Sophitia, he will instead say "I'' am the God of War!" * This is the first fighting game to feature Kratos. He would later appear in the PS3 and PS Vita versions of ''Mortal Kombat (2011). He also appears as a playable character in the crossover platform fighting game PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale alongside fellow guest fighter Heihachi. * In several of Kratos' attacks, he uses magical items from the God of War games. Shown in gameplay were Poseidon's Rage, Atlas Quake, the Icarus Wings and the Blade of Olympus. * Kratos is the fourth console-exclusive character in the Soul series. The first three were Link, Spawn and Heihachi in Soulcalibur II. * His alternate costume is his God of War Armor from God of War II. * Kratos' name is the same as the father of Lloyd Irving, another guest character from Soulcalibur Legends. However, their names are pronounced differently. * Sometimes, in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny, at the start of a match, the announcer will say, "Fight like the God of War." He is most likely referring to Ares, the Greek god of war. * One of Kratos' pre-combat lines is "Your end begins!". This is a reference to one of the promotional taglines for God of War II, "The End Begins". * Kratos is the only character in whose soul lies an emotion present in another character's soul (Yoshimitsu, who also has Vengeance in his soul). * Kratos' weapons are called Blades of Chaos, though by the end of the first God of War, they were replaced with the similar Blades of Athena. * Kratos' throws reference moves against specific enemy types in the God of War games. * The first part of Kratos' Critical Finish references a move from the final boss battle in the first God of War in which Kratos stabs a sword into Ares, leaps upward and pulls it out while slashing downward. * Kratos is one of two characters from Greece to not use a sword and shield, the other being Alpha Patroklos (Though the latter's regular form does use a sword and shield). Etymology Kratos means "power" or "strength" in Greek. In Greek mythology, Kratos is the son of Pallas and Styx, and the personification of physical strength. Category:Characters Category:Living Characters Category:Soulcalibur Characters